FIREFIGHTERS carried on working after their strike began on Friday to attend an acid leak at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey.

Staff at the engineering works yard serving the hospital were carrying out routine checks in the area when they noticed the leg of a storage tank for hydrochloric acid used to clean boilers was damaged. Some of the 22,000 litres of acid held in the tank escaped, but did not leak any further than the bund, a receptacle surrounding the bottom of the tanks designed to capture any leakage. Office staff in nearby buildings were evacuated, but the hospital stressed no patients were in danger as they were more than 500 yards away in the main hospital site. No patients were moved during the incident. The fire brigade was called before the strike officially started at 9am and three red fire engines responded, from Woking, Chobham and Painshill, without army green goddesses being required. Woking firefighters monitored the situation, staying on site until a tanker successfully drained the acid at 4pm. Thames Water and the Environment Agency were involved in the operation and monitored the leak to ensure no acid escaped into the earth or water supply. Hospital communications manager Andy Hollebon said: “The Trust worked closely with the Fire Brigade, Environment Agency and Thames Water and would like to thank all those involved.” “This incident has demonstrated our plans for dealing with serious incidents are effective.”